Page 28 of Hooked on a Demon (Leeside Witches #3)

Eliana

T he last thing she expects to see when she walks into the Acorn is her brother and Declan belting out a ballad to each other. Everest is in his glory, soaking up the attention of everyone watching, but Declan’s gaze tells her he only cares about one person in the room. Her.

His eyes track her across the room as the server guides her and Kaia to a table. She places her phone and wallet on the table and watches the show before them unfold.

The volume in the room rises as other patrons eat out of Everest’s hand while he mimes falling in love with Declan.

As the last round of the chorus starts, the room erupts, raucously singing along with her boys on stage.

Her boys. The thought causes her to pause before she sits.

The server says something to them, but with the crowd singing along, it’s impossible to make out any of it.

Not that it matters. Her brain is too busy short-circuiting, stuck on the idea of Declan being hers.

She rarely wants to claim Everest, but Declan…

That came out of nowhere. They’ve barely been on a date, and yet her brain is already laying claim to the demon.

She’s going to have to have a chat with her subconscious later.

The boys finish their song to exuberant applause and whoops of celebration, and Everest leaps off the stage. He high-fives anyone he can on his way to Eliana’s table, with Declan following close behind.

“Ellie. What are you doing out? You don’t go out,” he says, raising his hand out to Kaia for a high-five. When she doesn’t reciprocate, he runs his through his hair instead. Declan snorts behind him, and Kaia picks up the menu from the center of the table, not giving Everest the time of day.

Feeling her phone vibrate on the table, she flips it over and glances at the screen. “Nice to see you too, Ev,” she replies, silencing yet another call from an unknown number.

Plopping down on the open seat beside her, Everest throws his arm along the back of her chair. As a server walks by, he circles a finger in the air, signaling a round of shots for the table. “Oh, don’t be like that. You know I’m teasing you,” Everest says.

“What are you two doing out tonight?” Eliana asks. “Looking for another heart to break?”

“Always,” Everest laughs. “But this guy has gotten old and says he doesn’t want to, ” Everest says, adding a mocking lilt to the last few words.

“Or, maybe he’s trying to be respectful of women,” Eliana counters, quickly catching Declan’s gaze before turning her attention back to Everest.

“Unlikely,” Everest and Kaia say in unison. Eliana turns her head, glaring at her friend while Kaia laughs along with Everest. Hell must have suddenly frozen over if these two agree on something.

“Anyway,” Declan says, sidestepping the conversation, “Tai and Joley are up next, and we should get back to our table.”

“Oh, they’re fine. We can watch them make a fool of themselves from here; Hades knows they won’t be anywhere near as good as we were.

I mean, they don’t have our chemistry,” Everest says, reaching dramatically for Declan, who now sits on Eliana’s opposite side.

Declan laughs and bats her brother’s hands away.

Despite the crowd’s murmur, that resonant sound of his sticks to her.

Coating her in a warmth she didn’t know she needed.

Tai and Joley take the stage, and Everest is right—they aren’t as good as he and Declan were.

But while everyone is watching the stage, Eliana can’t keep her gaze away from Declan.

He catches her watching and smiles, crinkling the skin at the corner of his eyes—utter perfection.

When he winks at her, her stomach flutters, and it’s like she’s the only one in the world.

He glances at Everest, checking to ensure his attention is still on their friends, and then his hand finds hers on her lap.

It’s quick, as they can’t risk Everest seeing, but as his thumb brushes the back of her hand, she wishes nothing more than for them to be alone.

Before she can think of linking her fingers with his, he pulls back and mouths tomorrow at her.

She nods in return, feeling the butterflies in her stomach once again.

Tomorrow.

* * *

Anticipation has been building inside her all day.

Shortly after she got home last night, Declan messaged, asking about her work schedule.

After some back and forth, they worked out that she would meet him at his place around seven.

She’d be lying if she said she hadn’t been counting the hours since.

It’s times like these when she wished she had magical powers so that maybe it would help relieve some of the tension raging through her body.

At least, she assumes that’s a benefit of magic, that releasing it helps regulate the body.

Now that she thinks about it, she’s never asked any of the magical beings she’s known and been friends with.

To be honest, she really doesn’t know much at all about how it all works. Just that it does.

As she does another series of pirouettes while she plays between classes, she makes a mental note to ask Declan about it in—she looks at the clock—three hours and twelve minutes.

She has three classes left for the day and then will need to run home quickly to shower and change.

Declan suggested dinner at his place, and it sounded perfect.

She gets bored cooking for herself all the time, so the thought of someone else potentially cooking for her or the two of them creating something together is heavenly.

Her first class, a group of five and six-year-olds, passes quickly as they begin to focus on their number for the showcase.

Their excitement to learn their roles is palpable.

Her second class, a teen ballet group, is a little more frustrating.

The mix of attitudes and questioning of her expertise is a challenge on a good day, but some days, their snarky little comments get under her skin.

Eliana may be back at Strike a Pose because of her injury, but she knows she is a talented dancer.

Or was. Well, she is , but sometimes it’s hard to think of herself as a professional still.

It’s something Dr. Colson has been helping her work on, among all of the other things.

Seeing herself as valid even though her path now looks different.

But it’s still a work in progress. And some days, those comments from the teens challenge that progress.

She says goodbye to Bellamy and June as she leaves and drives home as quickly as her car will allow.

After a brief shower, shave, and primp, she’s ready to go again.

Not knowing if she’ll be drinking tonight, Eliana calls a cab, and after only a few minutes wait, climbs inside and is on her way over to Declan’s.

Despite being only ten minutes late, Declan, along with a large black dog, is pacing at the door when she arrives.

“Are you okay?” she asks, stepping through the door he holds open. She slides her coat off and holds it in her arms.

“I’ve been better.” Declan snaps his fingers, and the dog walks over to a bed in the corner and lies down.

“Did something happen? Is it no longer a good night?” She turns, making to put her coat back on and leave through the still-open door, hoping she can flag the cab down again.

“Where are you going?” he asks.

Pausing inside the doorway, she glances at his confused expression and back at the door. “It doesn’t seem like it’s a good time for you. I thought you wanted me to leave.”

He steps toward her, putting a hand out to grasp her arm, but stops short of touching her.

“No. No. I was worried.” She steps into his outstretched hand, making contact.

Even through her coat, his touch heats her skin.

His eyes dip down to his hand on her arm, then back to her eyes.

“I didn’t know if you had broken down or if maybe your shithead ex showed up and…

” He pauses. “My brain and demon instantly jumped to the worst thing.”

Her hand finds his and holds it as she steps aside, allowing him to finally close the door. Her free hand moves up, cupping the side of his face. “Declan, I’m okay.”

“I know. I see that.” The large dog comes out from the corner and headbutts her leg and then his hand. “This is Buckley by the way.”

“Hi, Buckley,” Eliana says before leaning over to pet his head. She smiles up at Declan. “It’s adorable that you were so concerned, but this is Leeside. The worst thing to happen here was when a flock of geese held up traffic for half an hour.”

He leans his cheek against her hand before turning his head and kissing her palm. “You’re right.”

“I know.” She winks. “I know all of this—” she motions to the general space around them, “is new, but you’ll have to trust that if something is wrong, I’ll let you know. And also, don’t be prepared to burn the world down at a moment’s notice.”

“Okay,” he replies, helping her take her coat off again and hanging it in the front closet. “But, I can’t promise not to be concerned about you. You’ve already been through so much. I can’t stand the thought of anything else happening to you.”

“I appreciate it, but you can’t protect me from everything.”

“I know. How about I’ll do my best not to turn into an overprotective demon?”

“I’ll accept that.”

“Good.” He pauses. “Can I hold you?” She nods, and before she can open her arms, he wraps his around her, pulling Eliana into him.

Her body presses into his; their curves perfectly shaped for each other.

Her hands splay on his chest, and he practically growls into the crook of her neck as he breathes her in.

“I’ve missed being around you. Well, only you. ”